On June 21, 2013 I will travel to Pittsfield Vermont, to stay with friends, racers and family at the beautiful AMEE Farm for one week. While there, I will not be vacationing, I will be competing in The Spartan Death Race. I will be racing with some of the finest athletes, from all over this great planet, This is the ultimate race of endurance. It is a race without an official start time, there is not an official finish line and the distance between is unknown. The duration of the race can exceed sixty hours, tasks can range from doing five hundred burpees, splitting wood for endless hours, and carrying a thirty-five to one hundred pound ruck pack up a mountain time and time again. There will be no rest, food is available only when you can get it, I will be unable to sleep during this time, I will be in and out of water endless times. I will be cold, wet, tired and hungry. Half of the participants will drop in the first day from injury, fatigue and exhaustion.

Voluntarily and driven to finish, I will face numerous physical challenges and mental anguish; all of which pales in comparison to that of a child living in an abusive household. Please support me as I give all I have to bring awareness to those who can’t speak or advocate for themselves.

Statistics:
90 cents of every dollar donated goes directly to help children in need.
5 children die daily of child abuse or neglect.
80% of children that die of child abuse are under the age of four.

When asked for donation’s people have many reasons why they do not give for a specific cause. I would pray and believe in humanity that this would not be ONE of those causes.

I AM WILLING TO SUFFER TO SAVE JUST ONE CHILD FROM ABUSE.. WHEN IS ENOUGH, ENOUGH?

As a young girl I experienced so many different things, good and bad. But for some reason I mostly remember and think of the bad experiences of my life. To this day, it is so hard to talk about it with the people close to me. I lived scared, isolated, feeling sad and guilty. I remember telling my mom about one incident the day after it happened. A close relative molested me when I was 12. I talked to my mom about the incident, hoping she would tell my dad and actually do something about it, but she didn’t. I felt so betrayed and alone. The person who was supposed to protect me and keep me safe, didn’t do anything at all! Who could I have turned to? Who was going to help me overcome this and move on? I tried living my life as if nothing had happened but it is so hard to forget with the thoughts constantly frequenting my mind. It felt so uncomfortable even just laying down on my bed.

I was finally able to gather the courage to tell the rest of my family about what happened a few years back and they were very supportive. My dad couldn’t believe my mom didn’t say anything before, and it is too late to do anything now. It was in the past, and as part of the healing process I am learning how to forgive. I don’t know when I’ll have the courage to tell my parents everything that has happened to me as a child – maybe someday that time will come. Knowing what I have been through, I worry more about helping children today that are going through similar situations, and I want to see them get the help and support they need to get away from the abuse, stay safe and overcome it!

Through education and advocacy about child abuse we can prevent things like this from happening to our children. Many people aren’t aware this is happening all over the world and that it could happen to them or their children.

I recently joined Athletes for Childhelp to fundraise to help prevent and end child abuse. I joined this group to represent Childhelp and help them save lives by doing what I love, which is playing soccer, volleyball and running! As a victim of abuse, I know how bad it feels to go through all that pain and suffering, to feel scared, sad and alone. Imagine if this would happen to you or your child. Wouldn’t you want to protect them and give them all the support they need to overcome that? I know I would! Every day, more than 5 children die as a result of child abuse and about 80% of those children are not even 4 years old yet!!!

Here at Childhelp we would like to welcome all our new athletes to the Athletes for Childhelp program. We can’t wait to hear more about what you will be doing to raise awareness and funds for the fight against child abuse.

In spring of 2012 I signed up my family, which happened to include a 15 month old that would be competing in his third 1 mile race, for the Childhelp Run the Course 5K and 1 mile run. At the time, I was using the Childhelp run to train for a military style obstacle course that I competed during May of 2012. I was unfamiliar with the Childhelp organization and their cause, but upon arriving to the race, my life was forever changed. One display was a flagged off area which contained seventy pairs of children’s shoes. Having little knowledge about the statistics of child abuse, I soon learned that the shoes represented the number of children which had perished due to child abuse just this year. This year alone, it was only April!! Standing there looking at the tiny little shoes, I was beside myself. What in the name of humanity was transpiring here? How could this be? So many children being harmed by something that is 100% preventable! Until this point I had done fund raising for Wounded Warrior Project, Home Front and Home for the Heroes, but never even thought of child abuse. Being the father of three, it shocked me that I had totally overlooked this very real thing that lurked in the darkness. In August of 2012, my wife and I became Childhelp athletes. We embarked together on a new journey to raise as much money and bring as much awareness as possible to this cause, to speak for those who can’t, to advocate for children in need. While I will continue to raise money as well for the military causes, I have added to my life mission to help stop the death of the innocent children.

Do you have a dog? Did you know exercising with your dog can be beneficial for both you and your furry friend? Getting out of the house and taking your dog for a run or walk will not only help you stay fit but also keep you motivated to train. According to healthypetu.com it can help you “boost your mood, lower your blood pressure, strengthen your bond with your pet and keep you exercising regularly (your dog will bug you to stay on your routine).”

It will help keep your dog in shape too! Dogs need exercise just like humans do, and this is a perfect opportunity to keep them in shape and release some of their pent up energy. Keep in mind, if your dog isn’t used to running, make sure to take it slow at first and run short distances. Build up his stamina and before you know it you’ll be running marathons together!

Check out this website for great tips on exercising with your dog and then hit the ground running, literally.

Did you know AFC isn’t just for adults? There are plenty of ways for kids and teens to get involved too! They can give back and exercise at the same time, teacher two very important lessons about healthy living and helping others. Doing an event like the Seattle’s Children’s Kids Marathon is a great example! It is a marathon structured to allow children to complete a full 26.2 marathon at a rate that is fun and safe for kids. It also encourages them to read and do good deeds. Not close to Seattle? Don’t sweat there are plenty of other ways for children and teens to get involved:

Join a club team

Do a dance marathon

Bowling leagues

Little League/American Legion

Football tournaments (NYFC, AIYFC, Pigskin, Hornet Football Classic)

Swim meets

Martial arts tournaments

School sports teams and tournaments

Make sure to check your local community listings too for more ideas! What’s going on in your town that could help you give back with AFC?

Remind yourself to be flexible and not to be too hard on yourself. If something didn’t work one day or you didn’t do as good as you would have liked there is always tomorrow! The point is you got out there and did it, which is an accomplishment in itself.

Most importantly, remember it’s for a good cause! As an Athlete For Childhelp you are helping save children’s lives!

Keep in mind you need to find what works for you. Everyone needs different things. What keeps one person motivated might not be what works best for you.

If you’re not signed up already, don’t delay! You can be saving a child’s life too by being an Athlete For Childhelp by visiting here and together we can make a huge difference!